Music to my Ears
by Mittens10
Summary: I was never normal. I was always pushed aside, no matter where I was. Now, I have the chance of a lifetime to fit in. Armed with a copy of Journal 3, Lost Legends, a calendar, and my sheer knowledge of Gravity Falls, nothing could go wrong. Or could it?
1. Outloud Wishing Works!

Madeline's POV

All darkness. Then a bright light. Suddenly, I was in the old storage closet at my school, a bloody knife in my hand. _No, not this memory._ I cried out inside my head. A limp body was lying on the dirty floor of the room. She was barely breathing and a red stain was spreading out from her light gray shirt. I felt completely frozen and started to cry. That was when I woke up.

Hello. I'm Madeline and my life is a mess.

It all started when 8th grade ended. My parents told me that we were moving to Washington because they had found a house. In reality, I knew that they wanted to leave because of the anonymous murders of girls my age at my school. That I caused.

So, I was basically in a brand new school, with brand new people and no one to talk to. That was a problem. I am an introvert, so I don't like meeting new people. And my day started with me having to talk to the office ladies because of my lateness to school.

Then, I got lost in the hallways and had to ask someone for directions. They just squeaked and ran away from me, leaving me to wander in the halls until a teacher found me. Needless to say, I was having a bad day. The rest of the morning was fine, other than the strange looks from the other students. Then, lunch came.

Apparently, the teachers thought that high schoolers were responsible enough to not be supervised during their free period. How wrong they were. As soon as I entered the lunchroom, everyone fell silent. Confused, I tried to find a table but was once again baffled. Wherever I went, a halo of free space floated around me.

Just playing along with whatever the kids were doing, I went to the back of the cafeteria and sat down. I opened my lunch box and pulled out my normal utensils; a fork, a spoon, and a knife. The knife seemed to snap something with them, for they all seemed to freak out at the sharp object.

Then, the whole cafeteria was thrown into chaos as someone yelled, "Help! The new girl brought a knife!" Other lunches were sent sprawling onto the floor as everyone scrambled for the exit. Now I was really confused. New girl? They could at least try to learn my name before running from me.

They were all watching me from the doors, barely showing their faces. Shrugging it off, I began to eat my lunch. After lunch, I went to my next class, which was English. When I entered the classroom, I could feel the tension in the air. A girl was having a staring contest with the teacher. She was obviously in trouble or just getting out of lunch detention because of the teacher's body language.

Eventually, the girl gave in and said, "Alright, I'll do better next time." She then turned to look at me. "Oh! It's the supposed serial killer from Pennsylvania," she mocked. "Listen, missy, I'm not 'fraid of some rumor. You're just trying to get attention." I was shocked. Was that why everyone was afraid of me at lunch?

"I-I'm not trying to get attention. I didn't even know about the rumor," I managed to stutter out.

"Hmm? Really? Well, I don't believe your innocent act, missy. I will somehow prove that you ain't no serial killer and you'll lose all your attention," the red-head said. She strutted out of the classroom, her nose pointed towards the roof.

The teacher at the front of the class sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "That Melanie is a mountain of trouble." She went back to grading papers and I sat down, trying to process what had just happened. How did that rumor start? Even if it were true, no one back in PA managed to figure it out either. So how did it get here even before I arrived? I just put it at the back of my mind and focused on my classes.

I managed to get to the end of the day before I saw Melanie again. I was simply getting my stuff out of my locker when I was shoved to the ground.

"Oh look, we're locker buddies," a familiar voice said from my left. I looked up and saw the bright red hair belonging to the one person who approached me that day. "Piece of proof one: the 'serial killer' can't defend herself from a simple sneak attack," Melanie said matter-of-factly.

I could feel my emotions starting to swirl. Oh, I forgot to tell you. I have anger issues and am highly sensitive to bullying. "As I told you before, I don't know where that rumor came from. Why are you even choosing to believe that I started the rumor in the first place?" I said, my voice beginning to crack.

"'Cause," she paused. "It's fun being the detective. If the rumor is about someone and draws attention to them, it's most likely started by the person it's about."

"That doesn't even make sense!" I shouted, flailing my arms around for more of an impression.

"You don't make sense! You start a rumor about yourself to gain some popularity at your new school, but instead, it gains you a notorious reputation as a serial killer!" she shouted back.

That pushed me over the edge. I grabbed my stuff out of my locker and stormed out the school's front door.

Once on my bus, I let out the emotions that had been building up all day. My face grew hot. Tears started rolling down my cheeks. I let out small whimpers. But no, there's more. I was suddenly blinded by a flash of light from the seat in front of me.

"Piece of proof number two: The 'serial killer's' a wimp."

Great. She was on my bus as well. I stopped crying and stared out the window. Washington truly was quite beautiful, with its thick pine forests and tall mountain ranges. Too bad it was nothing like home, with its large deciduous forests and my best friends.

The bus came to a shuddering stop outside of my neighborhood's large, circular entrance. I exited the bus, Melanie behind me. As my feet hit the asphalt, my instincts took over. It was just me and redhead. I could "eliminate" her right now. Then, I felt something. This was not the way I was going to eliminate her. I devised a plan and ran all the way home.

As soon as I entered the house, I knew something was wrong. My mom would normally be working on her computer in the living room, but she wasn't in sight. I went to the kitchen ready to prepare a quick snack, but a note on the fridge caught my eye. It read:

_Madeline,_

_You may be wondering where I am right now. Well, something really bad happened. I don't want to tell you what happened, so call me as soon as you get home and I'll explain it to you._

_Mom_

I pulled out my phone and called my mom. It was answered almost immediately.

"Um, Mom? I read the note. What happened?"

She sobbed. "W-well, m-me, and Reagen were driving a-around town t-to get the h-hang of this p-place, w-when we were h-hit b-by a c-careless driver. I-I m-managed to g-get out, b-but R-Reagan... "

My hand went slack on the phone. Reagen, my youngest sister, was only five. I pressed the hang-up button and collapsed on the floor in a heap.

She was the one thing preventing me from running away from home. She was my light, joy, and happiness in the world. Now she was dead.

That did it. I took my school supplies out of my bag and packed an art notebook, a couple of mechanical pencils, some books, my phone, my laptop, chargers for both of them, enough food for a couple of meals, my entire life savings (around 500 dollars), a change of clothes, and a first-aid kit. I scribbled down a quick note and left out the back door.

After about fifteen minutes of walking through the woods, it started to get dark and I began to get tired.

Eyes drooping, I continued into the woods. Suddenly, a light shot down from the sky and landed in the center of a clearing in front of me. Curious, I walked to where the light had landed. There was a small indent in the ground and at the bottom of it, there was a delicately crafted necklace, the pendant shaped like a singular eighth note. I picked it up and realized that there was a groove running along the outside of it. I dug my nails into it and flipped the pendant open.

Inside it was a small key and a wrinkled up piece of paper. I unfolded it and read it aloud.

"Ms. Crapo," I began. "You seem pretty sad, do you want me to fix that for you?" I chuckled at the options. "Yes, definitely, absolutely. Hmmm, sure, mysterious stranger who left a locket in the woods. I would like you to improve my mood."

In the blink of an eye, I was enveloped in a cocoon of white light. As I watched, the light streaming upward slowly gained color. Then, I felt a rush of adrenaline and fell.

_Ow, ow, ow._ I bounced off of the branches of tall pine trees and landed with a large _Thump!_ Disoriented and the wind knocked out of me, I looked up, my vision blurred. Then a rush of pain caused me to flinch and curl up.

"Hey, dude. Are you okay?"

"No Soos! She's obviously not okay!"

I heard voices and uncurled a little bit. "He-help," I hoarsely cried.

"Mr. Pines! There's a girl in your front-" I then promptly fell unconscious.

**So, this is my first ever Fanfiction! Hooray! Please let me know how I did.**

**This story was inspired by Emerald vs. Gold and Looking Backwards. Please check both of those stories out because they are absolutely amazing.**


	2. Third Crash is the Charm!

Madeline's POV

I woke up a few hours later in a room that looked awfully familiar.

"Oh! You're awake," a voice said from somewhere behind me.

I attempted to sit up to look around but found that my arm was in a sling and my arms and legs were bandaged profusely.

Then it all hit me. "Who are you? Where am I? What-"

"Whoa, slow down rodeo. To answer your first question, I'm Wendy and my friend over there is Soos."

My heartbeat sped up. Wendy and Soos? The Wendy and Soos? From Gravity Falls?

"Second, you're in the Mystery Shack, which is in Gravity Falls, Oregon," I heard Wendy continue. "And if you're wondering where your stuff went, we brought it inside."

Suddenly, a loud crash sounded from the gift shop. Alarmed, I quickly sat up, straining all of my muscles and causing me to whimper in pain.

"Hot Belgian Waffles!" I recognized that voice. "Soos! The snowglobe display fell over again!"

I chuckled. "Is he sure that it just 'fell' over?"

Wendy snickered at my comment. "Say, you seem chipper despite your injuries, and you seem like someone who would work hard no matter what. Maybe after recovering, you could work at the Shack with me and Soos."

"Wait, what? I haven't even done anything!" I laughed.

"I dunno. It seems kinda like fate decided that it would put you right at the Shack's doorstep instead of somewhere else's."

Huh. I guess that kinda was kinda freaky.

"Anyways, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"

Where to start? "Well, um, I'm Madeline Crapo, I'm fifteen, and I-" I trailed off. I couldn't tell her about my family, and I couldn't tell her about my interests either. They would both give hints that I wasn't from this dimension.

Wendy laughed. "What, cat got your tongue? That's fine, Mads. I'm Wendy Corduroy, I am also fifteen, and I have three younger brothers."

I smiled. She was being so nice to me! "I prefer to be called Madeline, but hey, since you are being so nice to me, I won't mind if you call me by a nickname."

She scoffed. "I'm only being nice to you so that you won't get absolutely squashed by Mr. Pines, my boss."

"He doesn't seem that bad," I said, trying to reason with both her and my inner self.

"WENDY! I need you to get back out here and help with the cash register!" She looked at me with one of her signature "whatever" looks and left the room.

That was when I exploded. I was in Gravity Falls! I squealed and watched the windows and tv screen shatter with an eardrum-bursting crash.,

"AGH! Soos! Did you drop ALL the snowglobes?!"

"No, Mr. Pines! They just shattered in my arms!"

Whoops. Trying to look as innocent as possible, I stood up and sidled into the kitchen. My backpack was sitting on the counter with the contents spread out around it. I panicked and checked to make sure that Stan hadn't taken my money. Whew. Miraculously, my laptop and phone hadn't been cracked from the fall and my pencils weren't even broken. I picked up the contents of my bag and put them individually back into my bag.

"Hey!" I jumped and turned around. "Oh, wait. You're that girl that Soos and Wendy found outside." I nodded and quickly snuck my silver and teal wallet into my pocket. There was the tuxedo-wearing, strict (but secretly loving) man that Wendy mentioned.

"So, you're Wendy's boss," I said, pretending to be clueless, casually leaning on the counter.

"Yes, and you are…"

"Madeline. Madeline Crapo."

"I'm Stanford Pines and since you are in my house and have no ID, I guess I'm taking care of you now."

I was confused. That wasn't how that worked…. or was it? Maybe he just wanted company? I had no idea. Playing along with it, I half-shrugged and continued putting my items into my bag. He turned around and the expression on his face quickly changed from stern to panicked as he spotted the time.

"They'll be arriving any minute!" I immediately perked up. "WENDY! SOOS! I'm leaving for a minute!" He then rushed out of the front door and drove off, hitting every object in his path.

Oh boy. I put my last pencil into the front pocket of my hand-stitched bag and left the kitchen. A staircase (which I knew led up to the attic) was directly on my left. Curious, I walked up the stairs and poked my head up like a periscope to survey where I was most likely going to spend most of my summer. It was just like the show!

The triangular window, the door to the twins' bedroom…. No one would mind if I just took a peek, right? I scurried across the creaky floorboards and swung the door open. Inside were two beds right across from each other, both empty. Leaning against the wall was a mirror and for the first time since I had arrived in Gravity Falls, I got a good look at myself.

Despite being all bandaged up, I could tell that I hadn't changed much. The biggest change was probably my hair. It had gone from being long, brown, and wavy to long, brown, and curly. I giggled at how disproportionate my head was and how large my eyes were. I then noticed my clothing. There were rips and tears in it, but it had changed from my outfit in the "real world". I was now wearing a pale teal hoodie, a jean skirt, and knee-length boots. The mysterious music note necklace was hanging around my neck.

_Ugh. _I thought. _Where am I going to get something to repair this? _Suddenly, I heard the front door bang open. Startled, I darted back down the stairs and into the kitchen.

I casually leaned against the counter, only to be knocked down by a flash of pink.

"Mabel! Wait up!"

Dipper darted past me and up the stairs after the blur as Stan came into the kitchen, clearly tired out.

"Darn… kids. Why are they so fast?"

For the third time that day, a crash sounded from the gift shop.

"Agh! And nobody can do their job right!"

I suddenly brightened up. "Maybe, I can help in the Shack?"

Stan looked at me and sighed. "Alright, you're hired. Now go and help with whatever happened in the gift shop."

I picked myself off the floor and rushed into the gift shop. Soos had slipped when cleaning up the broken snow globes and knocked into a stand of boxes, which had made that big crash. I helped him up and started picking up the boxes that had fallen.

_Maybe this is a sign, _I thought. _Maybe this is proof that I can flip a new leaf and make some good friends here. Maybe…._

**And, here we are! After about a week, I post the second chapter (which, to be fair is not the best that I could have done.) **

**Please do let me know how I did.**


	3. Lost in the Woods!

Madeline's POV

It had already been a few days since mine and the twins' arrival and the first episode hadn't really gotten started. That was both negative and positive for me. Positively, I was able to gain the trust and friendship of many people and get used to a job in the Mystery Shack without worrying about messing up the plot. Negatively, I was impatient and just wanted the series to start. I was also eager to rush the plot so I could spend fewer nights sleeping out in the open (For someone who was supposed to be "taking care of me", Stan was doing a pretty bad job. Then again, I would rather sleep outside for three months than talk to an adult). Then, the day arrived.

"Wendy, do you ever wonder if your life is just a series of images put together quickly? Like, an animation?" I asked as a put some Stan bobbleheads on the shelves.

"Hmm… isn't that sort of like the 'the universe is a hologram' theory?"

I laughed, not only because it was true, but also because she was accidentally directly quoting the antagonist of this universe. "I guess."

Suddenly, Mabel popped her head up between the merchandise and I jumped back in surprise.

"He's looking at it, he's looking at it!"

I turned to look at where she was staring. A boy who looked about her age was holding a piece of paper that he unfolded.

"Uh, do you like me? Yes. Definitely. Absolutely?" He looked around confused.

My heart leaped in my chest. This was it!

"I rigged it!" Mabel said with enthusiasm.

Dipper's voice floated from behind the shelf. "Mabel, I know you're going through your whole 'boy crazy' phase, but I think you're kind of overdoing it with the 'crazy' part."

"What!" Mabel turned towards her brother and blew a raspberry. "Come on, Dipper! This is our first summer away from home. It's my big chance to have an epic summer romance."

I continued watching the twins, leaving the unshelved merchandise on the floor.

"Yeah, but do you need to flirt with every guy you meet?" Dipper replied.

Despite the lack of flashbacks of Mabel flirting with different guys, I still got the idea from the tone of Dipper's voice.

"Mock all you want, brother, but I got a good feeling about this summer." I almost busted out in giggles from what I knew was going to happen next. "I wouldn't be surprised if the man of my dreams walked through that door right now."

I could almost hear the angelic voices heralding Stan's arrival. He walked through the door and burped a few times.

"Oh, oh! Not good. Ow."

"Oh, why?" Mabel groaned.

Dipper and I started laughing.

"Don't leave romance in luck's hands," I said as I came out of my fit of giggles.

Stan then cleared his throat and held up some signs. "All right, look alive, people. I need someone to go hammer up these signs in the spooky part of the forest."

"Not it."

"Not it."

"Nope."

"Uh, also not it."

"Nobody asked you, Soos or Madeline."

"I know, and I'm comfortable with that," Soos said, immediately following it by taking a bite of chocolate from a bar that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"And?" I answered and quickly regretted saying, despite Stan not noticing.

Stan turned to the cashier desk. "Wendy! I need you to put up this sign!"

Wendy kept her eyes in her magazine and answered. "I would, but I… uh... Can't…uh...reach it," she reached towards the general direction of me and the group.

"I'd fire all of you if I could. All right, let's make it, eeny-meeny-miney… you." He pointed at Dipper and I felt a chill run down my spine. Why was it that Stan and Bill were so alike?

"Oh! What?" Dipper complained. "Grunkle Stan, whenever I'm in those woods, I feel like I'm being watched."

_Is it just gnomes watching him or was it the big bad triangle himself?_ I thought.

Stan, however, brushed it off. "Ahh, this again." _Oh Stanley Pines, are you sure about that?_

"I'm telling you, something weird is going on in this town," Dipper argued.

"I second that." I piped up, still watching this scene unfold.

"Thank you! Just today my mosquito bites spelled out 'beware,'" he continued.

_Batch out for Will._ I thought, suddenly needing to look through my copy of Journal 3.

Stan squinted at Dipper's bites and drew back. "That spells 'bewarb.'" Dipper took a second look at his bites and scratched them bashfully.

"Look, kid. The whole 'monsters in the forest' thing is just local legend drummed up by guys like me to sell merch to guys like that." He gestured to a sweaty man giggling at a bobblehead before putting it back on an entirely different shelf. I internally cringed and promised that I would fix it later.

Stan threw the signs into Dipper's arms and gave him one last phrase to think about. "So quit being so paranoid!"

Dipper sighed and left the shack. I knew I shouldn't interfere with the whole 'journal incident,' so I fixed the bobbleheads and finished putting the rest of the merch throughout the gift shop. Mabel left the Shack a minute later and headed off in the direction of town. I smiled and continued tidying up the gift shop.

About thirty minutes later, Dipper and Mabel rushed through the gift shop and into the "Employees Only" door. I crept in after them and watched Dipper rant about the journal.

"It's amazing! Grunkle Stan said I was being paranoid, but according to this, Gravity Falls has this secret dark side."

"Whoa! Shut up!" Mabel said in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Yeah, that's pretty cool!" I said, coming out of my hiding place.

Dipper smiled at me. "And get this: After a certain point, the pages just stop, like the guy who was writing it mysteriously disappeared." His eyebrows furrowed together like he was thinking of who the author could be.

The doorbell rang and I groaned inside.

"Who's that?"

"Well, time to spill the beans. Broop." She knocked over a conveniently located can of beans. "Beans. This girl's got a date. Whoo whoo!" I smiled pretending that I was happy for her. She giggled and fell backward.

"Let me get this straight. In the half-hour I was gone you already found a boyfriend?" Dipper asked.

"What can I say? I guess I'm just irresistible."

The doorbell rang and Mabel went to answer it. "Oh, coming!"

Dipper sat down in the chair and I sat on the arm.

Suddenly, Stan was standing over us.

"What you readin' there, slick?"

"Oh!" Dipper quickly reached over my lap and grabbed the magazine.

I went to push my glasses up the bridge of my nose only to realize they were not there. Huh.

"I was just catching up on, uh… 'Gold Chains for Old Men Magazine'?"

Stan leaned on the chair. "That's a good issue."

Mabel's voice suddenly rang out from the doorway. "Hey, family! Say hello to my new boyfriend!" I saw the black silhouette of Norman and decided that for once in my lifetime, I was going to stay in a cringy situation willingly.

He turned our way and waved. "'Sup?"

"Hey."

"How's it hangin'?"

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Mabel continued. "We met at the cemetery. He's _really_ deep." She squeezed his arm and I almost broke my promise to stay in this situation. "Oh, little muscle there. What… what a surprise."

"So, what's your name?"

_Wow, Jeff is _really _selling it._ I thought sarcastically.

"Uh… Normal... Man!" he managed to get out.

"He means Norman," Mabel corrected him.

"Are you bleeding, Norman?" Dipper questioned.

"It's jam." That was true.

Mabel gasped. "Oh! I love jam! Look at this!"

Norman looked at Mabel. "So, you wanna go hold hands or… whatever?"

"Oh! Oh my goodness," she giggled. "Don't wait up!" She and Norman then left the shack, Norman crashing into almost everything.

"Alright, I can't be the only one to think that that was weird, right?" I said after they were both outside.

"Yeah….." Dipper trailed off.

"What, are you both now paranoid? Like I said before, local legend. Besides, Mabel seems like she is genuinely in love with him." Stan said and exited the room. Dipper grabbed the journal out of the chair cushions and rushed up the stairs, me following quickly behind.

He sat down in the small windowsill thing and started reading from it. I sat beside him and read over his shoulder.

"'Known for their pale skin and bad attitudes, these creatures are often mistaken for….. Teenagers?! Beware Gravity Falls' nefarious…" Dipper gasped. "ZOMBIE!"

I cringed. "Ow, Dipper. Ow."

Completely ignoring my comment, Dipper turned to look outside at his sister and her new boyfriend, who was stumbling towards her with his arms outstretched. Despite not being able to hear anything, I could tell that he was groaning like a, well, zombie.

Norman grabbed Mabel's shoulders and Dipper cried out, "Oh, no! Mabel! No, no! Mabel! Watch out! Aaah!"

Norman took his hands away from her shoulders, revealing a flower necklace that he had put on her.

Dipper turned back around and slid off the bench. "Is my sister really dating a zombie, or am I just going nuts?"

"It's a dilemma, to be sure" Both Dipper and I jumped from Soos' unexpected presence. "I couldn't help but overhear you talking to Madeline in this empty room."

"Soos, you've seen Mabel's boyfriend. He's gotta be a zombie, right?"

Soos continued screwing in the lightbulb. "Hmm. How many brains did you see the guy eat?"

Dipper rolled his eyes and looked down. "Zero."

"Look, dude, I believe you, along with Madeline. I'm always noticing weird stuff in this town. Like the mailman? Pretty sure that dude's a werewolf. And Madeline is some sort of interdimensional being."

I gasped, pretending to be offended. "Really!"

Soos looked at me. "But I don't have proof. That's what you have to have. You gotta have evidence. Otherwise, people are gonna think you're a major league cuckoo clock."

"As always, Soos, you're right." Dipper nodded.

The lighting seemed to get more dramatic. "My wisdom is both a blessing and a curse."

Stan called from downstairs. "Soos! The portable toilets are clogged again!"

Soos then straightened his cap. "I am needed elsewhere."

I looked at Dipper. "How does one clog a portable toilet?"

"Doesn't matter. What we need to gather info on is Norman."

I sighed. Cue montage!

The next day was spent following Mabel and Norman through town on their dates. Wow, Jeff was _really_ bad at this.

Then, Dipper went to confront Mabel about it. Not wanting to get in on their argument, I stayed downstairs and washed the dishes. No dishes ever seemed to get done in this house.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and Mabel came flying down the stairs. "Coming!"

I heard Mabel's bright and perky voice talking to someone at the door. She then walked out and I heard Dipper sigh.

I entered the front room. "Soos is right. I don't have any real evidence. I guess I can be kind of paranoid sometimes, and… WAIT, WHAT!?" I looked over his shoulder at the video clip of Norman's hand falling off and backed away as Dipper fell backward in an attempt to get out of the chair. "I was right! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" He started to race out the front door. I quickly followed him. "Grunkle Stan! Grunkle Stan! Grunkle Stan!" We came outside to see Stan entertaining a group of tourists with the "rock that looks like a face".

"And here we have 'rock that looks like a face' rock… The rock that looks like a face."

One of the tourists raised his hand. "Does it look like a rock?"

"No, it looks like a face."

A second tourist added on. "Is it a face?"

"It's a rock that looks like a face!"

Dipper continued attempting to gain Stan's attention, while I looked around for Wendy and the golf cart.

"For the fifth time, it's not an actual face!"

Dipper groaned and turned to find Wendy arriving back with the cart. Once again, I followed him.

"Wendy! Wendy! I need to borrow the golf cart so I can save my sister from a zombie!"

Wendy took the keys out of her pocket and tossed them to me.

"Try not to hit any pedestrians," she said and walked off.

Dipper looked at me with a smile on his face. I jumped in the driver's seat and started it up, backing up so that we would run into Soos like the original plot.

"Dude, it's me, Soos," he said with his hands behind his back. "This is for the zombies." He handed Dipper a shovel.

"Thanks."

"And this is in case you see a pinata."

I grabbed it out of his hands and muttered a quick "Thanks."

I backed up again and heard him shout, "Better safe than sorry!"

The trip into the forest was surprisingly short, probably because my foot was pressing the pedal to the floor and Dipper was shouting supportive things such as, "Don't worry, Mabel! We'll save you from that zombie!" and "Hold on!" Mabel's screaming also spurred me to hurry up. We finally came to the clearing and saw Mabel surrounded by gnomes.

Jeff was saying something, but we were too far away to hear what.

We jumped out of the golf cart and held our weapons close.

"What the heck is going on here?" Dipper exclaimed.

"Yeah!" I said, adding on to the confusion.

A gnome ran past us and hissed, causing Dipper to jump.

"Madeline! Dipper! Norman turned out to be a bunch of gnomes! And their total jerks! Uhh! Hair, hair!"

Dipper slid Journal 3 out of his vest and flipped it open. "Gnomes? Huh, I was way off. 'Gnomes. Little men of the Gravity Falls forest. Weaknesses, unknown.'"

"Oh come on!" I was so busy watching a gnome that had been knocked aside that I forgot about Mabel for a second.

Dipper stormed up to Jeff. "Hey, hey! Let go of my sister!"

Jeff looked scared for a second. "Oh! Haha. Hey there! Um, ya know, this is all really just a big misunderstanding, ya see? Your sister's not in danger… She's just marrying all one thousand of us and becoming our gnome queen for all eternity. Isn't that right honey?"

"How is that better?" I burst out.

"Yeah! You guys are butt-faces!" she said as her mouth was covered by a gnome near her.

"Give her back right now, or else!" Dipper threatened.

"You think you can stop us, boy and girl? You have no idea what we're capable of. The gnomes are a powerful race! Do not trifle with the-" I had to admit, that scared me a tiny bit, but Dipper just lifted Jeff off the rock he was standing on and threw him to the side with his shovel.

He then slammed his shovel down on the ropes binding Mabel and she leaped up, free from her bonds. Jeff called out one last warning before me, Dipper and Mabel climbed into the cart. Dipper and Mabel got the front seats, so I had to ride in the back. Dipper reminded us to put on our seatbelts and the cart spun around and lurched forward, nearly throwing me off.

I heard Jeff call out and curled up, trying to hide from my fate.

"Hurry, before they come after us!" Mabel cried to Dipper.

"I wouldn't worry about it. See their little legs? Suckers are tiny." An earth-shaking thump sent me sprawling out of the cart. Luckily Dipper stopped the cart, otherwise, I would have been left behind.

"Dang."

I scrambled onto the cart and watched the gnome-zilla come up behind us.

Once again, Jeff was out of range for my hearing, but his mouth was moving, so I could tell he was saying something.

The monster let out a roar and Mabel urged Dipper to step on the gas.

The chase started. Mabel shouted out a warning, and Gnome-zilla sent a group of gnomes onto the roof to slow us down. Mabel punched one in the face, I got Shmebulock and threw him into the woods, and Dipper got attacked by a gnome from the face, which led to Mabel punching it off and Dipper losing his hat in the process.

"Thanks, Mabel," Dipper said, slightly dazed.

"Don't mention it." Suddenly, a pine tree flew overhead, adding an obstacle to our path and resulting in a crash in front of the Shack. We crawled out of the wreckage and groaned only to see the monster in front of us.

"Stay back, man!" Dipper threw his shovel at the thing, only for it to punch it out of the air. I had lost my bat in the escape, so I was completely defenseless. I felt genuine fear and started quaking in my boots.

The twins were clinging to each other and Dipper asked, "Uh, where's Grunkle Stan?"

I knew that he was inside with a group of tourists, and that scared me even more.

"It's the end of the line, kids. Mabel, marry us before we do something crazy!"

Dipper started panicking. "There's got to be a way out of this!" He opened the book and skimmed through the gnome page.

"I gotta do it." Suddenly, my knees stopped quaking. This was how the plot was going to end.

"What? Mabel! Don't do this! Are you crazy?"

"Trust her," I said.

Dipper whisper screamed at me. "What?!"

"Dipper, just this once, trust her." Mabel was looking at me with wonder, probably thinking, _how did she know I was going to say that?_

Dipper and I backed away slowly, Mabel looking solemn.

"All right Jeff. I'll marry you."

"Hot dog!" Jeff worked his way down the statue of gnomes and held out a box with a diamond ring in it. "Eh, eh?"

Mabel held out her hand and Jeff placed the ring on it.

"Bada bing, bada bam! Now let's get you back into the forest, honey."

"You may now kiss the bride."

"Well, uh, don't mind if I do." He leaned towards Mabel with his lips puckered.

Mabel leaned in as well before moving back and flipping the switch on the leaf blower. Suddenly, she was in a battle stance, holding the blower like a bazooka, aiming straight for Jeff's face.

"H-hey, wait a minute!" Jeff stuttered out.

Both Dipper and the rest of the gnomes gasped as I smiled at Mabel.

"Whoa, whoa! W-what's going on?" Jeff got sucked into the machine with a satisfying pop.

"That's for lying to me!" Mabel pulled the suction lever back to the max. "That's for breaking my heart!"

"Ow! My face!"

"And this is for messing with my brother and friend!" My smile grew wider. "Wanna do the honors?"

"On three! One, two, three!" Me, Mabel, and Dipper all pushed the lever forward and sent Jeff flying into the center of Gnome-zilla, scattering the gnomes and sending Jeff into the woods.

"I'll get you for this!"

The remaining gnomes were in complete disarray. "Who's giving orders? I need orders!" one gnome said. "My arms are tired," another one added on.

"Anyone else want some?" Dipper said as Mabel blew the rest of them away. The remaining gnomes scampered back into the forest, one of them getting caught in a metal eight-pack soda ring and getting carried away by Gompers.

Dipper turned to go back inside, while Mabel put the blower down and rushed up to talk with Dipper. I sped up my walk so I could get some sibling fluff.

"Hey, Dipper. I, um, I'm sorry for ignoring your advice. You really were just looking out for me," Mabel said, her head tilted down.

"Oh, don't be like that. You saved our butts back there." Dipper insisted.

"I guess I'm just sad that my first boyfriend turned out to be a bunch of gnomes," Mabel replied, picking a few leaves out of her hair.

"Look on the bright side… maybe the next one will be a vampire."

Mabel laughed. "You're just saying that."

"Awkward sibling hug?"

"Awkward sibling hug."

"Pat, pat.

I suddenly heard a loud sob. Who was crying? No one else was nearby. Oh... oh! AH! FEELS!

The twins looked at me in bewilderment. "I'm sorry, guys. I just love watching sibling fluff." I said as I wiped my eyes dry. They smiled and continued walking ahead.

The soft ring of the gift shop bell announced our presence to Stan, who was sitting at the cashier counter and counting up money.

"Yeesh, you three get hit by a bus or somethin'? Haha!" The twins simply ignored him while I gave him the dirtiest look imaginable. A look of guilt crossed his face and stopped us before we went into the house.

"Uh… Hey! W-wouldn't you know it, um, I accidentally overstocked some inventory so, uh, how's about each of you take one item from the gift shop, on the house, you know."

Mabel turned back around. "Really?"

Dipper also turned around. "What's the catch?"

Stan shuffled together three individual stacks of money. "The catch is, do it before I change my mind. Now take something."

I walked around the shop and looked for something that interested me. I went over to look at the boxes of unshelved merchandise when I came across a strange box. It had patterns of butterflies and music notes etched into its silver surface with an iridescent shimmer. I felt drawn to it, like a moth to light and decided to choose that as my item. A loud crash shook me from my trance and caused me to look at where the sound had come from.

"Grappling hook!" Mabel swung from the ceiling.

"Fair enough," Grunkle Stan said in reply to her actions.

"Hey, Madeline, do you wanna have a sleepover?" Mabel asked from where she was hanging.

I was shocked. "Uh, yeah! I just have to grab some stuff from my house," I said as I backed out the door, the strange box cradled in my arms.

As soon as I left the clearing where the Shack stood, I burst into a run. Twigs and thorns scraped at my skin and hair, but I didn't care. I had been making this run for the last three days to get to my "home".

I had set up camp in the clearing where I knew the Bill statue was going to be and despite my limited building skills, I had borrowed some wood to start making a little hut. In the hut, I had also brought a mattress and a carpet to cover up the floor and my bag hung from a small twig sticking off the main log. I had also nailed a plank to the wall and put my books on it. I quickly marked something off on my calendar and grabbed my bag.

After about five minutes, I was back at the Shack and going up the stairs. I opened up the twins' door and was surprised to see a mattress on the floor. Dipper was writing in the journal and Mabel was jumping on her bed.

"Guys, you didn't have to get a mattress for me," I said.

"Oh, but we did," Mabel replied. "We can't have you sleeping on the floor." She stopped jumping and aimed her grappling hook at the pile of stuffed animals. She fired it and came back with a tiger in the hook. She smiled and Dipper moved from his spot on the bed.

"Hey, Mabel, could you get the light?"

"I'm on it."

Mabel fired her grappling hook and sent the lantern in the room sailing out the window.

"It worked!"

Dipper and I both chuckled at that and lay back down.

As soon as I heard that both of them were asleep, I pulled my copy of Journal 3 out of my bag and stared at the Tourist Trapped page. _Hey Sriya, Aidan, look at what I did today. I'm in Gravity Falls._ I giggled and held the Journal closer. _I'm in Gravity Falls._

**I completely underestimated how long this would take me. This took me a total of nearly five hours just to write the first episode, but I am going to release the next one much faster because of what Madeline does. What is it? Who knows?**

**Please let me know how I did.**


	4. As Long as I'm Breathing

Madeline's POV

I woke up in the morning after a dreamless sleep, feeling completely refreshed. Both of the twins' beds were empty, so I could only guess that they were downstairs. However, when I went into the kitchen, it was completely empty of people. Two bottles of syrup lay open on the table, along with some half-eaten pancakes a newspaper, and a magazine opened to a page labeled "Monster Photo Contest." Darn it, I missed them.

With nothing else to do, I made myself some scrambled eggs and sat down at the table. I finished eating and went into the empty gift shop. Suddenly remembering the box, I took it out of my bag.

On closer inspection, there was a small hole on the front and hinges on the back. I attempted to open it, but it stayed shut. What if…. I flipped the music note necklace back open and pulled out the small key. It fit perfectly into the hole. I turned it and the box popped open.

Inside were a couple of papers and an intricately crafted butterfly, along with a second hole. I unfolded the bits of paper. One of them was a picture of Ford, another a picture of Bill, and yet another picture of the axolotl in the fish tank. Most shockingly was the final piece of paper, which read:

_Butterfly,_

_I hope that this improves your mood. Put the key in the hole and see what happens!_

Curious, I followed the instructions and put the key into the second hole. As soon as I turned it, the butterfly began to spin and music started playing. It was the Gravity Falls theme song.

I sang along with the lyrics that had cemented themselves into my mind. "There's something more to this, that we have missed. Things around here are-"

"What are you listening to?"

I screamed and whipped around to look at who had scared me out of my socks. It was Wendy.

"Wendy! What are you doing here? You do know that Stan's not here today, right?" I said quickly pulling the key out of the box and hiding both behind my back.

Wendy looked at me with a confused face and shrugged. "Yes, but I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me and the gang right now."

I nodded, my heart starting to slow down from the adrenaline. "Sure, but where are we going?"

She smiled mischievously at me. "That, dear Mads, is for you to figure out."

About five minutes later, I found myself out in front of the Shack with the group of teens spread out in front of me.

"Hey, guys! I'd like you to meet my brand new co-worker, Madeline!" Wendy said.

I felt all their eyes on me like I was on a stage or something. I almost felt like darting back inside to escape from the eyes but decided against it.

"Um… hi," I said in a small voice. Robbie scoffed at me.

"This is your new friend that you have been talking about? Wow, she's pitiful."

A burst of anger sped through me. I barely kept my anger under control and instead looked up and smiled. "I don't like your tone, Robbie," I said, my teeth clenched in a tight grin. He seemed freaked out by that and backed away.

Wendy frowned at Robbie and continued introducing me. "That's Tambry, over there is Nate and Lee, you already met Robbie, and there's Thompson." I eased my grimace into a genuine smile and studied all of them carefully. Despite having watched the series over and over again, I hadn't really gotten to see much of them. They seemed like interesting characters and they hadn't gotten enough screen time in my opinion.

They all introduced themselves, except for Nate who was just staring at me with his mouth hanging slightly open.

"Yo, genius. Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Lee asked Nate.

He seemed surprised by Lee standing behind him and was snapped out of his trance. "Uh, yeah! I'm Nate, nice to meet you," he said with an elaborate bow. I giggled and

curtsied back. He stood back up and ran up to Thompson's van. He seemed kinda flustered by my reaction. Slightly confused, I followed him into the vehicle.

I quickly found myself sitting in the back of Thompson's car and listening to the other teens casually talk with each other. I instead gazed out the window and thought about my friends back in PA. Sriya, my best friend, my Alya Cesaire, my source of levity, and Aidan, fellow Terrarian, Gravity Faller and nerd. I hugged my bag which had both their names stitched roughly into the fabric and lurched forward suddenly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the treehouse!" Wendy said as we all jumped out of the van. Indeed it was. In front of us was an elaborate wooden staircase that spiraled around an extremely large pine tree and disappeared into the spiny foliage.

"Ten bucks the new girl won't go up first," Robbie said from the front of the group.

"I will take that bet, Robbie," Wendy answered with a smile towards me. That boost of confidence from someone else was all I needed to walk up the stairs and open the trapdoor that was at the top. Inside, I gasped in surprise.

"Guys! It's amazing!" I yelled down the trapdoor.

The rest of the teens walked up the stairs, Robbie unhappily handing Wendy a ten-dollar bill.

If you've ever been to Longwood Gardens, you've most likely been inside their treehouse. This treehouse was much more elaborate and better designed than them. Different shades of wood illuminated the small details carved around the doorways and walls. The first floor was quite simple besides a large window that gave a wonderful view of the woods. A flight of stairs led up to a large room that looked like a ballroom. At the back of the ballroom was a balcony that housed an assortment of benches and tables.

As the rest of the teens went to explore around the room, I walked back down the staircase and noticed a small door on the side of it. Curious, I opened it and peeked inside. There was a small, dark room that held a bed frame, desk, and corkboard on the wall. Suddenly, a great idea popped into my head.

I came out of the small room and headed back to where the other teens were.

"Hey, guys, I'm getting kind of bored, do you wanna go to the graveyard?" Wendy asked the whole group. The whole group agreed and nodded their heads.

"Um, I think I'll go home. I'm kinda tired," I said in a quiet voice. Clearly, they didn't hear me, because they all scrambled back down the stairs and into the trapdoor. I slowly followed behind, but only came to see that they had left without me. I was fine with that, though.

I was used to getting left behind.

I spent about thirty minutes walking back to the Shack and immediately went into the empty gift shop. I walked over to the vending machine and entered the code that I knew would reveal the secret entrance. _A1, B, C3._ I thought as I tapped the buttons. The secret door creaked open slowly and I slipped in, closing it gently behind me.

The elevator ride seemed to stretch on forever, and because of that, my anxiety grew. _What if Stan comes back early? What if I get trapped down here? What if I accidentally turn the portal on? WHAT IF BILL SHOWS UP?! _My thoughts echoed. Yeah, Bill was my favorite character, but he's insane!

When the elevator doors finally opened back up, I dashed straight out and banged into the desk, knocking open the secret cabinet to reveal Journal 1.

"Oh! I forgot that you were down here," I said to myself, picking up the journal. I sat down in the chair and started reading it.

About halfway through, I started drifting off. I guess I was more tired than I had thought because I found myself floating in midair surrounded by a void of whiteness. Confused, I tried to reach out and touch the walls, only to find that they were not there. Suddenly, a large steel birdcage fell over top of me. I panicked and attempted to float up, only to crash onto the ground.

"Seems like a trapped soul has decided to pay me a visit," a voice rang out.

My heart started beating faster. "No, no, no, no! This can't be happening!" I latched onto the sides of the cage. "Let me out! Let me out! I can't…. I.." I burst into tears and started shaking the bars. "BILL! LET ME OUT!"

A laugh echoed from behind me. "Oh sweet, sweet Butterfly." There he was, the bright, top hat-wearing, yellow corn chip that I knew, loved, and feared more than anything. "I can't do that. Maybe, I could let you out if we made a de-"

"NO! NOT TODAY, BILL! I will never make a deal with you as long as I am breathing!"

I regretted phrasing it that way as soon as it came flying out of my mouth.

"As long as you are breathing, ey?" Bill said, his eye narrowed in a mischievous squint. "Well then, if you were drowning or in space, you technically wouldn't be breathing," he said.

The void began to fill with water and my heart sped up even more.

"Better make a decision, Note. Time's ticking!"

I knew that it wouldn't make it better to panic, but by the time I had to tread water, my heart was going a mile a minute. As my head touched the ceiling of my cage, however, a thunderous bang sent the whole world askew. Bill and the cage vanished and I woke with a start. I quickly glanced at the elevator door and panicked, again.

_Why is the elevator coming down?_ I thought. I quickly jammed the book back into the shelf and darted into the portal room. I hid behind the manual shutdown and watched Stan come out of the doors and start messing with the controls. He kept messing with them for fifteen minutes before he left.

A sigh of relief escaped my mouth after he had left. I quickly rushed back up the stairs and into the dark gift shop. I pulled out my phone. Ten o'clock and the whole shack was quiet, meaning that everyone was asleep. Now was the time.

I snuck back into the twins' room and picked up the mattress that they had set up for me the night before. Then I walked for about a half-hour before coming to the tree in the woods that I and the rest of the teens had explored that day.

The treehouse was exactly as we had left it, with its beautiful carvings and polished floors. I went to the "Harry Potter closet" that I had found and set myself up there. I put the mattress on the bed frame and set my bag of supplies on the desk.

I had acquired a few things from my first couple of days, such as a sewing set and a toothbrush. Of course, I had fixed up my outfit from my crash landing, but I also had another purpose for the string and needles.

The corkboard was soon splattered with pictures and colored string. I smiled at my handiwork, changed into my PJs, and laid in bed.

I didn't sleep that night.

**Oooh, spooky!**

**First Bill encounter for Madeline and she absolutely flipped out. Wonder what the next one will be like?**

**Please tell me how I did.**


End file.
